Metamorphoses (2004)— 9’30”
Flute, Clarinet, Oboe, Horn, Trumpet,
Trombone, Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello
Premiere
October 22 and 29, 2004
Paul Hall, The Juilliard School and
Duke’s Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London
Members of the New Juilliard and Manson Ensembles
Simon Bainbridge, conductor
Listen
to Mvt. 1
Listen
to Mvt. 2
Listen
to Mvt. 3
Listen
to Mvt. 4
Listen
to Mvt. 5
Notes
In the fall of 2003, I was approached about a joint project between
Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Music in London. An ensemble consisting
of members from both schools would present concerts in New York and London
in October 2004, and three composers selected from each school would compose
a commissioned work and tour with the group. Joel Sachs chose a host piece
to create a theme for the project. The piece would be performed on the
concerts, followed by the works of the six chosen composers, who would
respond to it in any way they felt.
The collection of 5 short pieces, or Metamorphoses, I wrote in response to
Anton Webern’s Concerto for nine instruments, Op. 24, reflects my attempt to
integrate those qualities I admire most about his writing into a piece I
could call my own. His brilliant formal and textural economy, graceful sense
of both gesture and color, and his ability to convey poignant musical
thought in a brief and concise way were things I had long admired, and thus
became the issues I grappled with in these miniatures.
What makes them unrelated to the Webern is what also gave them their title.
Webern’s three movements each evoke a distinct atmosphere or character, and
in large part due to his musical obsessiveness with clarity, the character
of each does not change or mutate, even though his pitches may change. In
each of my pieces, I sought to create an atmosphere, then spend the rest of
the movement altering it or moving away completely while still keeping the
same essential musical elements- a cell or gesture, sometimes even the same
pitches. So, by using my senses (such as those I admire in Webern), I tried
to keep each movement in a constant of metamorphosis, the rate and mode of
which occur in varying degrees from piece to piece.
I dedicate these Metamorphoses to my teacher and mentor Robert Beaser with
gratitude. Many thanks also to Professors Joel Sachs and Simon Bainbridge
for posing a difficult musical question, for which any number of answers
would be correct.
back to list of works >>